In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire started, destroying more than 17,000 buildings, killed more than 300 people and left 90,000 people homeless.

That same day, a forest fire broke out at Peshtigo, Wis., eventually killing about 1,100 people while burning some 850 square miles.

In 1918, Sgt. Alvin York of Tennessee became a World War I hero by single-handedly capturing a hill in the Argonne Forest of France, killing 20 enemy soldiers and capturing 132 others.

In 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Also in 1919, the first U.S. transcontinental air race began with 63 planes competing in the round-trip aerial derby between California and New York Each way took about three days.

In 1967, Argentinean-born Communist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, an important figure in the 1959 Cuban revolution, was killed while leading a guerrilla war in Bolivia.

In 1990, at least 17 Muslims were killed by Israeli police in rioting on the Temple Mount, the third holiest site in Islam.

In 1991, a federal judge in Anchorage, Alaska, approved a $1 billion settlement against Exxon for the Valdez oil spill.

Also in 1991, former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams pleaded guilty to withholding information from Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal.

And in 1991, the Soviet Union agreed to remove an estimated 45,000 troops from Poland by the end of 1992.

In 1992, former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt died of intestinal cancer in his house outside Bonn. He was 78.

In 1993, the U.S. Justice Department released its report on its handling of the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. It concluded the department and Attorney General Janet Reno made no mistakes and that the cult bore the blame for the fire that destroyed the compound, killing at least 75 people.

In 1996, the Vatican announced that Pope John Paul II's appendix had been removed.

In 1997, a major hurricane battered Acapulco, Mexico, and vicinity. The death toll was more than 200, with many more people left homeless.

Also in 1997, three years after the death of longtime North Korean ruler Kim Il Sung, his son, Kim Jong Il, officially inherited his father's title of general secretary of the Communist Party.

In 1998, the House of Representatives voted 258-176 to begin impeachment hearings against President Clinton.

In 2000, as the Israeli-Palestinian violence continued, President Clinton asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to have an urgent summit.

In 2001, U.S. transport planes dropped 37,000 meals into areas of Afghanistan where mass starvation was feared.

Also in 2001, the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2002, President Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act to get West Coast longshoremen back to work.

In 2003, some $19 billion in peach-colored, redesigned $20 bills made their official debut across the United States.

Also on 2003, researchers found the remains of a synagogue dating from the 5th or 6th century in the Albanian coastal city of Saranda.

In 2004, a government report said U.S. employment in September grew by only 96,000 jobs despite other signs of an economic recovery.

Also in 2004, for the first time the Nobel Peace Prize went to an African woman, Dr. Wangari Maathai, an environmental activist from Kenya.

A thought for the day: French actress Sarah Bernhardt said, "Permanent success cannot be achieved except by incessant intellectual labor, always inspired by the ideal."

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